Thunder Hawk was an early proponent of the
Red Power Movement. She took part in the 1969-1971
Occupation of Alcatraz, with the goal of persuading the federal government to end its policy of termination and adopt an official policy of Indian self-determination. In 1970 and 1971, Thunder Hawk was involved in the two occupations of Mount Rushmore, a part of the Black Hills seized by the US government in 1877. The occupation protested continued violations of the
1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. Established the "We Will Remember Survival School" for Indian Youth. This school was established for youth whose parents were facing federal charges or who had been drop-outs from the educational system.
Lorelei DeCora Means, Anna Mae, a
Mi'kmaq woman from
Nova Scotia, was having an affair with
Dennis Banks, founder of the
American Indian Movement while he was still involved in a common-law marriage with
Darlene “Kamook” Nichols. The affair did not sit well with the women of different tribal affiliations within the movement, and these women (as well as the Pie Patrol) viewed the relationship as a threat to AIM's stability. One account details how Robinson was shot in the knee, dragged outside, beaten and taken to the Wounded Knee Medical Clinic run by Thunder Hawk and
Lorelei DeCora Means, as well as several other volunteer nurses and medics. Ray was then reportedly shoved into a closet, where he died of
exsanguination.
Post Wounded Knee Incident Thunder Hawk also served as director of the Wounded Knee Legal Defense Offense Committee (WKLDOC) in December 1975. Along with
Lorelei De Cora, she founded and established the 'We Will Remember Survival School,' meant to provide a safe place for American Indian youth whose parents were facing federal charges or who had dropped out of the secondary education system. In 1974, Thunder Hawk and DeCora, along with a handful of other Native American women, founded
Women of All Red Nations (WARN). Following the male-dominated activism of the AIM and Red Power movements, WARN organized around women's issues in Native American activism. The group worked to address sterilization abuse, political prisoners, children and family rights, and threats to indigenous land bases. Thunder Hawk was a co-founder and spokesperson for the
Black Hills Alliance. The Black Hills Alliance was responsible for preventing the Union Carbide corporation from mining uranium on sacred Lakota land. Thunder Hawk created
Wasagiya Najin or, "Grandmothers' Group" to assist in preventing the unlawful extraction of children from tribal nations. In 2016, Thunder Hawk joined the movement against the Dakota Access pipeline and provided an inspiring presence at a resistance camp in North Dakota. Thunder Hawk is a founder of the Warrior Women Project. ==Filmography==